Category Archives: Location Based Marketing
Rob Howard, Suitcase Eastern Canada’s Managing Director, made a big impression on the Canadian marketing community in 2010.
Of course we’ve seen his influence around the office through his pitches and strategies, but his July 27, 2010 post Here and Now Culture has been named one of 2010′s top 5 articles by the readers of the Canadian online marketing website onedegree.ca.
In the piece, Rob deftly compares and contrasts the traditional and location-based marketing models. His conclusion is that the older model resembles a treasure map where success relies on the consumers ability to follow the clues and end up at the cash register. The newer model, location-based marketing, in Rob’s assessment (and one we all share) is like a radar, a beacon where. “… the consumer is delivered an experience relevant to their physical location and needs at the time.”
And, as Rob also explained in the article, the key to being in the Here and Now, with the consumer is to understand and appreciate the uniqueness of your customer’s journey, as they consider, compare, learn about and interact with your products and brand.
Delivering a location-based brand experience requires not only mapping out the customer journey, but also tailoring each interaction to the customer’s needs or motivations based on their physical location at the time of each interaction.
As Rob boldly states, “Location-based experiences can — and will – transform the way consumers interact with brand organizations big and small.”
We raise our glass to Rob for all the tremendous work he’s done for this industry in 2010 and for his insightful thoughts moving forward into the new year.
Category: Location Based Marketing, Location-Based Experiences
For destinations, planning season is upon us.
At least, it should be.
Even if you are just in Q1 of your budget year, the end of the year is an ideal time to tabulate and examine the results of the past 12 months.
And for those setting DMO / CVB budgets…or just playing the shell game with your line items…December also offers a chance to begin allocating funds for new projects, come the new year.
Not to mention a bit of space as coworkers take vacation and your agency begins the annual 4-week holiday party.
So, what should be in your destination marketing budget for 2011?
We thought you would never ask.
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Category: Destination Marketing, Location Based Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Search
Coca-Cola is doing brands that are currently testing the waters of the location-based marketing pool a big favour by leaping in cannonball style.
With today being Black Friday – and the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States – Coca-Cola has embarked on nation-wide, location-based scavenger hunt campaign that will be fed directly into the hands of users running the SCVNGR app.
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Category: Branding, Location Based Marketing, Location-Based Experiences, Uncategorized
The walking tour, as a concept, is nothing more than a time-honoured packaging of a selection of locations or attractions in a meaningful way. Typically, walking tours will direct people along a route filled with sights and landmarks associated with a a well-known movie or television show, with the hope that in turn, people will get more out of their visit. Great idea, and an easy execution for most tourism boards, but walking tours exist as a low priority item – geosocial apps could change that.
GeoSocial is quickly evolving to become the new walking city tour. Two recent examples using Foursquare and Gowalla caught my eye, and in my mind, opened the door for location-based destination marketing. Continue reading →
Category: Destination Marketing, Location Based Marketing, Location-Based Experiences, Mobile Marketing
Let’s step back into TV history for a bit and visit Cheers, the fictional Beantown pub where everyone knew your name.
Each episode would typically open with the entrance of the show’s rotund raconteur Norm Peterson
“Norm!” the ensemble would shout in unison before the actor delivered a hilarious and often self-effacing punch line to a softball query tossed his way. For example:
“What’s shaking Mr. Peterson?” Woody the bartender would ask.
“Everything that isn’t taped down,” Norm would reply.
Cue laughter sign in the studio, and the show was off and running.
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Category: Branding, Location Based Marketing
Rarely these days do I read an article as inspiring as The New DMO Strategy by our destination marketing expert, Troy Thompson. I honestly believe that Troy has unearthed a concept — and a new model — that every DMO or CVB needs to understand, consider, then embrace.
The Tripecho Effect
In Troy’s article, he describes the “tripecho effect”, which is a great term and one that will receive heavy rotation in my marketing vocabulary. I think it’s the perfect term to describe the way the travellers experience and interact with a destination, and, most importantly, how they share those location-based experiences with others.
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Category: Destination Marketing, Location Based Marketing, Location-Based Experiences, Mobile Marketing
Suitcase Account Manager Rob Howard sent the following link to my email the other day. It’s a pretty cool location-based marketing idea called TriOutNC that links the “Triangle”, which consists of three North Carolina tourism areas, Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.
TriOutNC lets web site and mobile users to interact with the community, connect with people and help find local hot spots which drives foot traffic to cafés, bars, restaurants, clubs, etc.
With both a mobile and a web component, users choose the level of their participation. They use the web site to learn about a location and get a feel for its vibe. Then when they’re out and about, they participate via the TriOut mobile application.
Users can interact with local businesses by submitting photos and posting reviews of locations. TriOut users have logged more than 2,000 locations have been logged, and posted over 1,600 photos and 900 reviews. Users earn points by “checking in” at each location, and businesses offer their own specials or rewards for checking in a certain number of times to their establishment.
Check out TriOutNC
Category: Location Based Marketing, Mobile Marketing
Through the rapidly increasing amount of information, messaging, reviews and data online, we know that consumers are presented with more options than ever before. As a result they are becoming more and more savvy and resourceful to research products and services that they’re interested in. Ultimately they’re wiser with how they are making their buying decisions, and more demanding regarding the information they need, and when they need it. What I, as a marketer, try to keep in mind, is transitioning consumers from inquiry to purchase by focusing what they need, and only what they need, at every step of the process.
Know More, No Less
When considering what we’re delivering to customers and when, we need to keep in mind that most consumers are now doing their research through multiple platforms. Whether it’s through their laptop browser, iPad, Blackberry or iPhone, the need to develop smart user experiences and intuitive interfaces on every platform is greater than ever.
How do you ensure you’re providing this to your customers?
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Category: Location Based Marketing, Mobile Marketing, User Experience
I’m not sure why, but the above headline seems to be lost on many of my compatriots in the digital industry.
Instead, we’re addicted to coating simple concepts in divergent babble about conversations, deepening experiences, and extensions, all goals that sound more like marriage counselling than leading-edge marketing. It has to be said though, that on the upside, thankfully, we’ve stopped pitching (well, most of us have) dashboards.
Perhaps this fluffing results results from nothing more than our professional insecurity with an awkward juxtaposition; a hot, sexy new technology or platform that has, at its root, nothing more that the oldest profession on earth – selling.
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Category: Location Based Marketing, Mobile Marketing
Sometimes it takes society a bit of time to catch up with the real meaning of new things. At the turn of the last century radio was like the newspaper being read to you; television was radio with pictures; computers were electronic filing cabinets (hello folder icons); the Internet was TV that you controlled etc. You can probably add to the pile of evidence the dearth of banner ads that amounted to little more than print ads that jiggled.
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Category: Location Based Marketing, User Experience
